Donald E. Stout Papers

Donald Eugene Stout was born on April 14, 1924, in Carthage, Illinois. He attended Monmouth College for one year prior to World War II, when he served in the U.S. Army until 1947. While serving in the Pacific Theater and the post-war occupation of Japan, he earned a Sharpshooter marksmanship distinction and organized a men's glee club. Following his discharge, he enrolled at the University of Illinois under the GI bill, where he joined the Theta Chi fraternity and earned his Bachelor of Science in Music Education in 1950. He earned his Master of Music degree from the University of Michigan in 1951. He earned his Doctorate in Music from Indiana University in 1964. From 1951 to 1953, he taught vocal music at Williams Woods and Westminster College.

In 1953, he was hired as an Instructor of Music at Fort Hays Kansas State College. During his tenure, he taught a wide range of vocal performers, including the Fort Hays Singers and the Hays Concert Choir, as well as conducting multiple operas and musicals. In 1971, he took the Fort Hays Singers on a USO tour of the Pacific, which visited bases in Korea, Japan, Hawai'i, and the Philippines. Along with John Thorns, he began the annual tradition of the Christmas Madrigal Dinner, which he led for 25 years. He also provided private vocal instruction, served as a judge for regional musical festivals, and served as choir director for the United Methodist Chancel Choir and the United Methodist Boys Choir in Hays. In addition, he served as the organist at St. Michaels Episcopal Church, directed the United Methodist Church bell choir, and led a popular community choir that performed in Hays for many years. He composed music throughout his career, including arrangements for four cantadas by Johann Philipp Kreieger and "A Song for Fort Hays." He retired from Fort Hays State University in 1989 after 36 years of service.

Dr. Stout was an active member of the Hays Civic community. He served as president of the Hays Rotary Club, served as Rotary District Governor in 1990-91, and was a mason under the Order of DeMolay. He was a member of Phi Mu Alpha, Phi Kappa Phi, the Sigma Alpha Iota music fraternity and the American Choral Directors Association.

While a student at the University of Illinois, he met his future wife, Marguerite L. Colley, whom he married on July 9, 1950. Dr. Donald E. Stout passed away on March 7, 2006. That same year, the Donald E. & Marguerite C. Stout Vocal Music scholarship was established in his honor.